Company: Home
meal-preparation service, with five locations in Washington
state

2003 Sales Projections: $1.8
million to $3 million

Noshin' Notion: A
stay-at-home mom with a catering background, Firchau had been
preparing and freezing meals to save time during busy evenings. But
she found her knack when she staged a larger cook-out with
girlfriends at a rented commercial kitchen, charging only for the
cost of food. "I was getting phone calls and e-mails from
[friends of friends] asking if they could come," Firchau says.
When eight sessions filled quickly, Firchau realized she had struck
gold and asked longtime friend Kuna to be her business partner.

"Our recipes
aren't gourmet, but we push the limit to get people to try new
things."

Class in Session: Twelve
customers, each paying $160, migrate around the refrigerated
stations, preparing any 12 of the 14 meals featured monthly.
Pre-chopped ingredients, measuring cups and simple instructions for
creations like lemon pork chops or herb-crusted flank steak await.
Pre-ordering their selections, "all they need to do is follow
the recipes, and they're done in two hours," says
Kuna.

Teen Dream: Firchau's
17-year-old daughter caught the entrepreneurial bug, too, and began
delivering cooked Dream Dinner meals within a 20-mile radius for a
small fee. A new kitchen, opened in April, focuses on deliveries
for eaters all over Washington state.

Food Fancy: "We've
had people e-mail us their FedEx numbers," says Kuna,
recounting the intense interest that has them getting ready to
franchise. "We even had two women from Sacramento, California,
fly up, cook over the weekend, and pack everything to ship on the
plane home."